Delhi Games bronze medallist, Kashyap took just 24 minutes to end the misery of his rival Jeff Tho of Australia 21-7 21-8, while Thulasi thrashed Rachel Honderich of Canada 21-12 21-7 in a 31-minute match.

Gurusaidutt also notched up an easy 21-13 21-9 win over Andrew D'Souza of Canada in a men's singles match that lasted 27 minutes at the Emirates Arena here. World No. 22 Kashyap will now take on Daren Liew, ranked 47th.

A former top 10 player, Liew has beaten Kashyap twice in the past but the Indian had won the last time they met at Denmark Open in 2013 after the Malaysian retired midway. Guru will face World No. 18 and top seed Chong Wei Feng of Malaysia.

The Indian has always played three games against him but lost 0-4 so far. Thulasi will be up against World No. 33 Jing Yi Tee, a player against whom she has lost twice in the past.

After his victory today, Kashyap said: "I knew I could win. I just needed to get myself going and get into the rhythm. When you practice and when you're on for a tournament, it's different and you can't slack off."